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You Read It Here First: Plays’ Plans Still in Flux

A scene from the musical "Yank!"Credit
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

The new play “Detroit” was a hit at Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago in 2010, so much so that the New York producer Jeffrey Richards announced last January that he would move the show to Broadway in the fall of 2011. But as summer passed, there was no word on a cast, a theater, an opening night. Asked for an update, Mr. Richards said his fall producing schedule was hectic — he had “Chinglish,” “Bonnie & Clyde” and “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” all coming to Broadway — so he was waiting until winter for “Detroit.”

The Broadway plans fell through, Mr. Richards said last week, because three crucial cast members from Chicago, including the Emmy Award winner Laurie Metcalf, chose to do other projects. So why was “Detroit” ballyhooed for Broadway if the actors weren’t on board?

Because producers routinely announce shows prematurely, before even signing deals with actors, to generate buzz or signal seriousness to investors in hopes that they will commit money. Even more common is producers announcing a show before they have one of Broadway’s 40 theaters lined up, because they are counting on other productions to fail or close.

More than a dozen shows were announced or discussed in 2011 for the current Broadway season (which runs through May) that, like “Detroit,” did not come together as planned. Theater writers — including yours truly — raced to report the show news, which is what passes for a scoop on the theater beat, although plenty more shows are whispered about than written about.

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Steppenwolf's production of “Detroit,” with Laurie Metcalf, on ground, and from left, Kate Arrington, Ian Barford and Kevin Anderson.Credit
Michael Brosilow

Many of these productions are still dreaming of Broadway; others are in limbo. (Postponed is often a Broadway euphemism for canceled.) Here is a status report on which shows still have life in them, and some factors that have caused delays.

STARS NOT ALIGNING Similar to the case of “Detroit,” a Broadway revival of “You Can’t Take It With You” fell apart because the producer Elizabeth I. McCann said she wasn’t able to land big celebrities to star, the sort that are crucial for selling tickets to a revival. Another revival, of William Inge’s “Picnic,” has been delayed as the producers pursue star casting; one of the producers, Darren Bagert, said he was hoping to open the show next fall. “At least that’s the aim,” he said.

A third revival, “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin, is in the same boat; the producer Ken Davenport said he was also hoping for next season. The delay, he added, was because of the difficulty of finding stars who could attract tourists as well as regular theatergoers. “We have some big shoes to fill,” he said, noting that Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson were in the 1992 film version.

One revival that seemed to have had the biggest of stars in place, Nicole Kidman and James Franco for Tennessee Williams’s “Sweet Bird of Youth,” was apparently delayed after Mr. Franco left the project. A spokesman said he had no further information.

MONEY NOT IN THE BANK “Yank!,” a musical about gay servicemen in World War II, originally aimed for Broadway last season, then again this season. One of the lead producers, Stuart Wilk, said the team is now trying for next season. “Raising money has been tough,” he said, in the time since the show’s well-received Off Broadway production in 2010.

One veteran Broadway producer, Barry Weissler, helped finance a development workshop for the show this fall, but he has decided not to continue with the production, Mr. Wilk said. As he looks for new financing partners, his creative team — including the director David Cromer — is continuing to refine the musical.

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Anna O'Byrne and Ben Lewis in "Love Never Dies."Credit
Jeff Busby

“Our thinking has been that if we get the show right, the money will follow,” Mr. Wilk said.

A much anticipated musical revival of “Funny Girl,” meanwhile, fell apart because of financing this fall, a few months before its scheduled opening on Broadway. A new musical, “Sleepless in Seattle,” was delayed as producers wanted more creative work done on the show and more time to attract investors for Broadway. A spokesman said “Seattle” was aiming for next season, with a Pasadena Playhouse run scheduled for this summer.

Also up in the air is a possible Broadway run for Lynn Nottage’s play “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.” Ms. McCann also has the rights to that one; instead of coming in this season, she expects a production to run at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles this fall, after which she’ll assess Broadway.

NO VACANCY SIGNS Broadway theater owners say they have never had so many producers shopping around for open houses, which are scarce. Producers for the new plays “Magic/ Bird” and “Peter and the Starcatcher” said in recent days that they were confident they would have theaters to announce in the next few weeks, with openings this spring; while the producers of “The Fabulous Lies of Hollywood Whores” and a revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire” said they were still hoping for theaters this spring. (“Streetcar” has even announced its Stanley, Blanche, Stella and Mitch.) Much depends on which struggling shows close up shop during the challenging winter months to come.

NEVER SAY DIE Producers and press agents often say that productions have been postponed when they drop off the Broadway season lineup, rather than say they have been canceled outright. Yet postponement can mean a matter of years. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies,” a sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera,” was supposed to open on Broadway last spring, but was postponed after the show received negative reviews in London. People in Mr. Lloyd Webber’s circle aren’t sure when, or if, a retooled version of the musical will reach Broadway, but Mr. Lloyd Webber is said to be loath to shut the door to that possibility.

Neil LaBute’s play “Fat Pig” was scuttled for last spring after a critical investor pulled out; the producers said they were aiming for this season, but there has not been a peep about the show in months. A spokesman for the producers had no information. The musicals “Unchain My Heart” (about Ray Charles) and “Dancin’ ’ (a Bob Fosse tribute) have been delayed to uncertain dates in the future, according to press representatives, but neither has been canceled.

Another musical announced for this season, “Big Fish,” has been postponed to the spring of 2013 in hopes of landing Michael C. Hall to star, if his schedule for the television series “Dexter” can be accommodated. The director Susan Stroman remains attached, a spokesman said, and a developmental workshop is planned for this spring.

In the meantime producers of at least five shows are already looking for theaters for next fall, including those involved with the new musicals “Flashdance,” “Leap of Faith” and “Honeymoon in Vegas.” (Like “Big Fish,” all are based on movies.) Which means these producers should have plenty of time to line up stars and money— or else to write a news release about postponement.

A version of this article appears in print on January 2, 2012, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: You Read It Here First: Plays’ Plans Still in Flux. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe